Archive for January, 2010

1. Go with controversy. If you want your articles to land a good spot on the newspaper that you’re writing for, you must strive to write something that is very controversial. For example, you can write about a senator who was caught doing something inappropriate. This is something that will surely make waves and this is something that will help you earn instant recognition in your field.

2. Do your homework. You can’t write your newspaper articles based on hearsay. Do your job right and research your stories thoroughly. Check out reputable resources, interview people, and do anything to get the kind of data that you need. Ensure that you’ll be able to offer your readers with complete and in-depth information.

3. Stick with facts. You cannot afford to exaggerate the truth when writing for newspapers as this will surely tarnish your reputation. Stick with the truth and be on the safe side. If you’re writing about something that is very controversial or those sensitive issues, make sure that you have ways to back up your claims.

4. Use the inverted pyramid technique. Increase your chances of getting your articles read by using the inverted pyramid technique. This simply means putting all the juiciest information on your lead paragraph. Your readers must be able to understand your stories even if they don’t have the time to read your articles till the end.

5. Check your articles. Read your articles over and over again before you hand them over to your editor. Make sure that all your data are factual and that all the names you include in your articles are spelled right. Also, ensure that your content flow smoothly and that your grammar is perfect.

Author: Sean R Mize
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera Times

In addition to standard letter-writing dos and don’ts, there are a number of basic guidelines that apply specifically to most situations related to the writing of letters of recommendation. These are usually more “situational” than “how-to” in nature.

These recommendation letter guidelines are important to both note and apply, since writing letters of recommendation is always a somewhat tricky and delicate matter. That’s because they almost always affect the reputation and future of the writer or that of another person.

The following tips and strategies apply primarily to the writing of letters of recommendation in their various forms (i.e. recommendation letters, commendation letters, recognition letters, performance evaluation letters).

Write It Only If You Want To

If you are asked by someone to write a recommendation letter about them, you don’t have to say “yes” automatically. If it’s someone you respect for their work, and you have mostly positive things to say, by all means write the letter.

There is no point saying “yes” and then writing a letter that says nothing good about the person, or worse still, concocting a misleading positive assessment of someone.

So, whatever you do, don’t get sucked into writing a recommendation inappropriately out of feelings of guilt or obligation.

If You Must Refuse, Do It Right Up Front

On the other hand, if someone asks you to write a recommendation letter for them, and you know you’ll be hard-pressed to keep it positive, say “no” right away.

There is no point in hesitating and leading the person on to believe that the answer might eventually be “yes”.

A gentle but firm “no” will usually get the message across to the person. Explain that you don’t think that you are the best (or most qualified) person to do it.

Suggest Someone Else

If you feel you should refuse, for whatever reason, it may be helpful for you to suggest someone else who you think might have a more positive and/or accurate assessment of the person.

That other person may be in a better position to do the assessment. Usually there are a number of possible candidates, and you may not actually be the best one.

In fact, I have seen a number of cases over the years in which people requesting recommendation letters have not requested the letter from the obvious or logical choice. This usually happens when the requestor doesn’t like the person who is the obvious choice, and/or they are worried about what that person will say about them.

Write It As You See It

Writing a less than honest letter of recommendation does no one a favor in the end. It is likely to backfire on you, the person being recommended, and the new employer.

Also, many employers and head-hunting agencies check references these days.

How would you like to be called up and have to mislead people due to questionable things you may have written in a reference letter?

Be Honest, Fair, and Balanced

Honesty is always the best policy when it comes to writing recommendation letters. At the same time, try to be fair and balanced in your approach.

If in your estimation, a person has five strengths and one glaring weakness, but that weakness really bothers you, make sure you don’t over-emphasize the weak point in the letter based on your personal bias. Just mention it in passing as a weakness and then move on.

Balanced Is Best

An overall balanced approach is the best one for a letter of recommendation. Even if your letter generally raves about how excellent the person is, some balance on the other side of the ledger will make it more credible. After all, nobody’s perfect.

There must be some area where the person being recommended needs to improve. A bit of constructive criticism never hurts and it will make your letter more objective in nature.

Bottom Line:

The most important point to take away from the above tips and strategies is that it is your choice as to whether, and how, you will write a letter of recommendation.

It’s an important type of letter that will have a definite impact on the future of the person about whom it is being written, so don’t agree to write one unless you are willing to give it your utmost attention and effort.

Copyright Shaun R. Fawcett. All rights reserved.

Author: Shaun Fawcett
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Beading Necklace

This article will list 4 advantages and 2 disadvantages behind affiliate marketing, specifically article marketing, and why it is a reasonable way to generate passive income as a technical writer. After finishing this article you should be able to decide whether a technical writing job in affiliate marketing sounds reasonable to you.

Technical writing job; the means to generate long-term passive income [part I]

Why a technical writer should consider article marketing

As a technical writer you are already highly skilled in producing instruction-type articles for your reader. Why not combine this skill with the potential of the Internet? There are literally millions of information hungry surfers looking for instructive how-to manuals out there. A technical writer can use his well-honed authorship skills to produce this kind of material, thus generating a passive stream of long-term income.

Here is an overview of the advantages and disadvantages behind a technical writing job in article marketing. These will be explained later.

Pros:

• Wide exposure and the possibility of gaining a fellowship.
• A long term passive income stream.
• Establishing authority with the possibility of being picked up by a publisher.

Cons:

• Consistent effort is a must before the sales will start to roll in.
• A (no too steep) learning curve is present.

Technical writing job; the means to generate long-term passive income [part II]

Wide exposure…

The first advantage behind applying your technical writing skills to this line of work lies in gaining wide exposure and a possible fellowship. There are many poorly written how-to, instructional manuals out there, a technical writer’s professional touch will serve as a refreshing change.

When submitting to an article directory you must agree to an authorship contract, while (depending on the directory of your choice) you might loose the rights to your article, your work will still bare your name and will remain credited to you, allowing you to claim it as your own and thus opening the possibility to a fellowship.

Technical writing job; the means to generate long-term passive income [part III]

A long term passive income…

You can generate a long term passive income by offering your expertise on a particular niche. Whatever it is you are knowledgeable about, there is always a market for it. Just ask Google or search around some forums that might interest you and notice the amount of questions being asked. These are the potential topics of your next technical writing job.

You will be able to generate this passive income stream by writing a professionally crafted, instructional article, offering your advice to those who need it, later directing them to a relevant informational (or any other) product of your choice.

Technical writing job; the means to generate long-term passive income [part IV]

Establish authority…

A sure way to land a technical writing job and to be picked up by a publisher is to gain exposure thorough article writing. Your article will not only receive free search engine traffic but will also gain a chunk of traffic through blog and RSS syndication, once it becomes available at the article directory of your choice.

Technical writing job; the means to generate long-term passive income [part IV]

Consistent effort…

The only real drawback with article marketing is the essential need for consistent effort. One should view article marketing as a long term investment. Payments will be received and will become more and more frequent the longer you stay in the “game” and the more articles you submit to your article directory.

Financial benefits behind article marketing will manifest themselves after a couple of months (2-3 months in general), till then you will have to find another source of income while keeping the writing and submission process active.

Technical writing job; the means to generate long-term passive income [part V]

The learning curve…

Being a technical writer, you are already ahead of most who embark on this career path. While this is certainly a benefit, you must consider educating yourself in the ways of internet marketing and research. A successful article marketer is able to identify his competition, research general keywords, optimize his articles for Google ranking and so on. This education is essential to a successful technical writing career in affiliate marketing.

Technical writing job; the means to generate long-term passive income [part VI]

Conclusion

In this article you have learned that:

• A technical writing job in internet marketing can establish a consistent flow of passive income.
• It can gain you a fellowship and a potential publishing contract through wide exposure.
• It requires consistent effort from your side before you can harvest the fruits of your labor.
• You must educate yourself prior to reaping the benefits.

Author: Gregory D. Loyd
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty rates

Looking for freelance writing jobs? If you’ve been writing for newspapers and magazines, or if you’re a new writer, you may feel as if there are no jobs… this is completely incorrect. You’re starving in the midst of plenty.

Let’s look at how you can find the “invisible” writing jobs.

1. Check out the Out-Sourcing Sites, and Join One

Many writers starve to death on the out-sourcing sites because they’re inexperienced, and buyers take advantage of them. However, these sites have on enormous advantage for you when you’re job hunting: you’re in an area where people are trading words for money.

So grit your teeth and join one of these sites. Bid. Get writing jobs. In addition to cash, you’ll get something money can’t buy, and that’s experience.

2. Get a Blog Job: “Instant Publishing” Is Your Friend

There’s excellent money in blogging. Top professional bloggers blog for many sites, and make five figures monthly. This is because blogs are voracious. Companies start blogs for the search engine benefits, and they soon discover that the only way to keep the traffic flowing is to keep blogging. Since they usually don’t have blogging skills on the payroll, they pay a professional blogger.

As with most great jobs, the best blog jobs aren’t advertised. You find them via your contacts, and via your own blog.

3. Start Your Own Blog

If you haven’t created a professional blog, now’s the time. Your blog brings you a constant flow of new clients once it’s been online for a while. It also gives you credibility because your prospective clients can assess your skills to see whether they’re a match for their projects. A bog is a short cut. Within a couple of months of blogging, you’ll find that writing jobs are coming to you.

4. Make Friends With Writers Who Are Swamped With Job Offers

Once you become known as a writer, you’ll be offered many more jobs than you can handle.

Therefore, make friends with well known writers. Let them know what your skills are and give them your site links (you must have a Web site and blog) and you’ll receive the writing job offers which they don’t have the time to accept.

Once you discover “invisible” writing jobs, you’ll see them everywhere. Before too long, you’ll be turning freelance writing jobs away too, because you’re booked up for months ahead.

Author: Angela Booth
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: US Dollar credit card

Ok, I’ll admit it. I lack what it takes to write serious literary fiction. Stephen King settled that issue for me in his book, On Writing, when he said, “You will never be a great writer unless you are born with it.” Great writers must be passionate about something, right? I’m only passionate about things I shouldn’t eat or drink.

So the arrogance of someone so lacking as myself, offering up a thesis that literary fiction doesn’t sell and inferring that cognitive critters might solve that problem, is not lost on me. But even the most calloused devotees of esoteric fiction among publishing gurus, are hard pressed to make the case that a Nobel Prize winner will outsell a good murder mystery, thriller, or diet book.

Obviously there is a market for literary fiction. I buy lots of it myself. James Lee Burke, recently nominated for a National Book Award, wrote the only crime genre fiction I’ve ever read. Among that dedicated cadre of serious readers that have not already jumped ship for nonfiction, there remains a market for quality fiction. Not a huge market, but a market nonetheless.

What’s the problem? The characters in literary fiction spend so much time thinking; they never get around to doing anything. They constantly are confronted with deep issues of: Who am I? Why am I here? What should I do? Where am I going? Why can I not love/be loved? What if I’m wrong? What if I’m right? Why is life more difficult than it has to be? Who out there makes my life more difficult than it has to be, and a myriad of other “Oh, woe is me” considerations. There just is no time left to do much. This leaves heaps of the reading public wondering, “Is something ever going to happen in this book.”

Yet, during this stultifying process of self-examination, these characters and we readers constantly rub up against all of God’s creatures both large and small. Some of these creatures we make into pets. Some we watch with unfeigned interest in the wild or in cages. Some we feed. Some we nuke with pesticides. Some we eat. Some we squash unknowingly underfoot. Some we train to do tricks. Some we shoot for sport. Some we just enjoy. But none of these do we assign any cognitive powers except for “fight or flight” responses, and occasionally mistaking the attention our pets pay to us as affection – when in reality they probably are thinking, “Oh, boy! It’s the food guy.”

I have a friend, Leopoldo Solis, who is the guru to the tequila producers in Mexico. He has developed processes that tamed tequila from a muy macho kick your ass drink, into a delightful sipping beverage. One of those processes is playing Mozart to the yeast as they contentedly munch away on cactus juice during fermentation. He has presented academic papers illustrating the increase in ethyl alcohol production and the decrease in impurities created by these music loving yeast.

If the lowly yeast can enjoy classical music, then maybe we do Nature’s woodland creatures a disservice by denying them any cognitive powers. Here might be the salvation of literary fiction. What if we let the characters do lots of fun, interesting, creative, exciting, mysterious, fulfilling, and/or amazing things – while letting the creatures that the characters encounter do the heavy thinking about what is happening to them. The reader gets the best of all genres – plus completely new perspectives on life and the world around us.

I had this idea while in the shower. I shouted the traditional, “Eureka,” ran naked though the house to my computer, and launched this entirely new genre of fiction. The first manuscript is complete under the working title, VAMONOS! In Quixote-esq fashion, two guys ride their Harley’s through Mexico seeking redemption for sins of the flesh.

The result of my effort is not great literary fiction for the reason stated above by Stephen King. In fact, most would call VAMONOS! a hilarious, action-packed romp. But nestled amongst all this whirl of activity, adding depth and meaning, are the musings of the creatures encountered by the characters. Ruminations like, Who out there keeps jerkin me around? Why? and, How about cuttin this crap out?

Im enough convinced that this new genre of fiction has a future, that I am well into the second novel. I urge all of you literary authors, more gifted at birth than myself, to let a few cognitive critters do some thinking to free up your characters time. They then can get off their butts and do something; possibly winning back some of the literary fiction market.

Anyway, that’s what I think, but I could be wrong. What do you think?

Author: Bill Stephens
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Credit card currency-exchange fees

When you get the idea to write a novel, it seems to just jump into your head. You have an “Aha!” moment; a brilliant moment of inspiration. You can see the entire novel played out in your head. Now all you have to do is write it down on paper.

The mistake most people make when they try to write a novel is that they immediately start writing their novel. That moment of inspiration is actually a bit of an illusion. That moment of inspiration is absolutely necessary, but it is only the seed of the novel. Everyone that’s ever planted a seed in their garden knows that a lot of things need to be done before that seed becomes a full-grown plant.

After that first moment of inspiration, the next step in writing your novel needs to be a planning step. You wouldn’t want to build a house without a plan and you shouldn’t write a novel without one either. Some writers don’t like the idea of planning their novel. They say that it takes the creativity out of the process. I disagree. I believe that it gives your creativity structure so that you can actually get your novel finished in a timely manner.

Here’s what typically happens if you don’t plan. This is the story of a fictitious writer named Jane. She started writing a brilliant first scene. She got the first chapter done in two days. Then she got stuck. She wasn’t sure what should happen next. She set the novel aside while she figured it out. A couple of weeks later, she did figure out what should happen in chapter two. She dusted it off and wrote two more chapters. Then she got stuck again. She put it back on the shelf again. She got busy planning a baby shower for her sister and coaching her son’s soccer team. She thought about going back and writing some more on her novel, but she realized that at this rate it was going to take her several years just to finish the rough draft. That was pretty discouraging. She was busy and decided it just wasn’t worth the time or the trouble. Her novel became another novel that no one will ever read.

Each of the major parts of the story should be planned out in some detail.

The Characters – You should know who the main characters in your novel are. There should be a protagonist and an antagonist. Your plan should include some details about their lives.

The Main Problem – This may seem obvious, but many novice authors that I’ve talked to couldn’t tell me what the main character’s problem was in their novel.

The Major Plot Points – Before you ever start writing, you should have the major event in the story planned out. These major events will usually involve the protagonist attempting to solve the problem and then being kept from success.

The Ending of the Story – Make sure that the main problem and all the smaller problems introduced in the story are resolved. Readers don’t want to be left hanging.

A complete plan can easily be finished in a week. This will allow you to finish a high quality first draft of your novel in six months to a year.

This is the power of having a plan for your novel.

Author: Julie Coan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty

One thing that travelers often remark about when they return from other countries is that the magazines they are accustomed to reading at home are different in other locations. For instance, the same issue of Time, Newsweek, or People that is read in New York will not only have a different language in Mexico City, it may also have much different content but still have the same basic cover. What publications often do is to create one basic issue for their main readership, and then tweak that concept in order to sell it with more local content, in other regions. So People Magazine, for instance, might have the same basic layout in two different countries but the television related articles in Mexico will be about Mexican soap stars, while the New York issue will be the people acting in daytime dramas that are more well known in the USA.

Similarly, sports magazines in the Southern Hemisphere may have a heavier concentration of articles about soccer, whereas in the USA they might emphasize American football or hockey. And the same goes for other subjects such as politics and business. Open a newsmagazine in Europe and youll find less news about the USA, even if the magazine is based in and printed in the USA.

Another difference is, of course, the language itself. Many magazines will publish a bi-lingual edition of a magazine, with one language on the right side of the page and another language on the left side of the magazine. Or they will print different language editions, instead of bi-lingual editions, for different markets. They might do an issue in the USA in English, but then have the same content translated into several other languages for sale in other parts of the world.

For an inexpensive but interesting travel souvenir, try picking up unique and curious copies of magazines that are special foreign versions of the ones you and your friends read back home. Maybe you can find a National Geographic in Dutch, an Esquire or GQ in French, or your favorite kids magazines in Spanish. Not only are they fun to show to people, they can make your language studies even more fun as you try to translate your magazines accurately. They are easy to pack in your baggage, dont cost much, and are a simple item you can even pick up in the airport at the last minute.

Author: Jeff Lakie
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Excise Tax

Essay writing is never complete without the two most essential parts – introduction and conclusion. Why? Introductions serve as teasers that establish and convey the relevance of the whole essay. On the other hand, conclusions serve as deal sealers that leave strong and persuasive impressions on the readers.

With such great responsibility, introductions and conclusions have to be as powerful as possible. These paragraphs give the readers the opening and ending statements required that can make or break an essay. Brilliant essay writing has two vital factors – attractive introduction and strong conclusion.

Writing good introduction and conclusion is not done in a snap. It entails squeezing of creative juices and sufficient time to research. But there are some important considerations that can guide essay writers in coming up with hip beginning and ending statements.

In Writing Introductions

The introduction is basically designed to grab reader’s attention. It also aims to provide the readers a brief rundown of the essay’s main focus and idea. Remember two main points.

1. Begin with a bang. An attention grabber opening paragraph is a sure hit in essay writing. How to formulate such? A lot of means are efficient. Here are some:

Use startling information
Employing surprising and revealing information has always been a good way to start an essay. Essay writing is an exciting and brain stimulating activity. Using startling facts make readers curious and excited. Therefore it compels them to read more. However, the information must be true and confirmable.

Through anecdotes
Using anecdotes is another way to start an essay. An anecdote is a story that exemplifies a point. But the anecdote must be short and genuinely relevant to the topic. This method can be a competent essay writing opener, although, I must be done cautiously.

Try dialogues
Using dialogues as an introduction entails crucial scrutiny. The dialogue has to be appropriate and relevant. The readers must be able to understand the point that the dialogue is trying to convey. It is ideal to use only two or three exchanges between speakers to establish the main point. It must still appear as essay writing activity and not script writing.

Apply information summary
In writing formal essays, information summary works best. A few sentences citing the general points of the topic can actually lead the readers towards the heart of the essay. It is ideal that each sentence gradually become more and more specific, until it reaches thesis statement.

2. Finish the opening paragraph with the thesis statement. This is to immediately convey to the readers the essential points that the essay offers.

In Writing Conclusion

Essay writing can never be effective without a closing statement. The conclusion does not only bring closure to the readers, it is a tool so that the essay can leave a strong and compelling impression to the readers. It does not merely sums up the important points of the essay, but it wraps up and provides a personal perspective on the topic.

Conclusions are usually three to four sentences long. It is not advisable to have long and winding ending paragraphs. Three sentences will do. However, these sentences must be powerful enough to achieve the goal of the essay – whatever it might be. Essay writers also have to ensure that the written conclusion emphasizes the value of the main claim.

There is only one key point in essay writing to make it invincible – begin strong, end stronger.

Author: Laura Medel Nelson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Import duty tariff

Can Quick Grammar Guide & Checker solve our grammar writing problems once and for all? English writing is one of the most important forms of communication today, it is necessary to maintain it correct and professional. Let’s take a look and see how recent technological improvements can help us on improving our writing skills.

Quick introduction

What is Quick Grammar Guide & Checker all about? Well, it is one of these innovative solutions that technology keeps bringing in order to make our life easier – in our case it is about fixing our English writing. By simulating the human mind, this technology analyzes your writing by comparing it to a dynamic large database that contains proper variations of your text. Sophisticated language processing solutions usually offer the following: editing and proofreading, checking on spelling and typos, and most importantly – analyzing our grammar writing.

Important benefits

We can easily find several important advantages while using this technology:

* Significantly enhancing the capabilities of our existing text editors.

* Improving our self confidence with our writing.

* Improving the image we want to project through our writing.

Extra research on this solution would probably bring up additional benefits that aren’t mentioned here, as this important webmarketing technique keeps changing, bringing us fresh solutions that help us on improving our English writing and editing skills.

Quick summary

If we summarize the main benefit provided by this powerful Quick Grammar Guide & Checker – it is helping us on identifying possible writing errors before we deliver or publish our writing assignments. Everyone agrees that it cannot completely eliminate our writing problems; however, it can significantly help us on improving our writing skills. Undoubtedly we can expect this exciting technology to further develop itself, for one simple reason: writing is one of the most important tools that help us achieving many of our goals.

Author: Gil Lavitov
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Creditcard Currency Conversion Fee

A lot of people are so hesitant to start writing. There are a lot of reasons why people are hesitant to start writing. Their reasons range from the plausible to the absurd. Some people are too busy to write. Some arent confident enough in their writing abilities. Some are simply to lazy to write. The most absurd reason, however, is thinking that theres nothing left to write about. Its absolutely ridiculous to think that theres nothing left to write about because there is an infinite number of topics which we can choose from. We can write about anything under the sun and even those over it. The number of topics which you can write about is as boundless as your imagination. And yet, there are a lot of people who use this reason.

I think the problem doesnt lie within the lack of topics but on lack of inspiration.

Things to Write About

There are actually a lot of things that you can write about. Nature is one of the most common topics. Natures beauty inspires a lot of writers. You can write about a flower blooming, the sunset, the sunrise, the forests, the sea, anything.

If youre the philosophical type, you can try writing about abstract ideas or concepts like love, justice, and freedom. You can also try writing about the meaning of life or other things that Aristotle and Plato used to prattle about.

If youre good at something or if you have a hobby, try writing about that. It would be easy because its in your field of interest and youd have some sort of expertise on the subject because you know it well. Lets say you like making earrings, you can write about the techniques that you use in making earrings or the types of earrings which you can make.

If you want to improve your income, you can try writing about your business and posting the articles on your website. Write about anything that concerns your business. You can write about your businesses history, its edge over competition, the services offered, the products you sell, your objectives, and everything else that pertains to your business.

You could also try writing about people. You can write about yourself and make an autobiography or you can write about others and write biographies. You can write about the famous people in history, their lives, their ideologies, and their accomplishments.

You can also write your own fiction stories. You can write horror stories, adventures, love stories, fantasy stories, or mystery stories. You can write it as a poem or you can write it in prose. Its up to you.

If you cant think of anything else to write about, you can always write about the events that happened during your day. You can keep some sort of diary or journal.

As I said, you cant run out of topics but you can run out of inspiration. Whats important is keeping your eyes open. You never know when and where you can get inspiration.

Author: Dr. Mark Clayson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Make PCB Assembly